Spring Birds

Photographing birds is nearly always unpredictable. So, this year I have had to work hard to convert observed birds into photographs. I've had Ruby-crowned Kinglets very close- once when I was walking the neighborhood with no camera - but never where I could get a good image. But, it is still a delight to see the male Kinglet flare his ruby colored crown into view.  So, enough with excuses and on with some new photos.

First up is a Yellow-rumped Warbler that was foraging in the bushes below a huge willow.

 

I am always amazed when I see how slender a warbler's legs are. 

Carolina Wrens used to be an unusual sight here in the Finger Lakes, but they have become more common. (Global warming, anyone?) They are great singers and very approachable.  So, I spent a good part of Sunday morning listening to this chap. How can such a small package make so loud a song?

But, sometimes he had to pause from the song to do a little feather upkeep.

Sometimes I discover a bird that I have not been paying much attention to, but find deserving more interest. Usually this happens when I see some interesting behavior  as in the next subject. I had this little House Sparrow foraging in front of me, and I saw something new to me. He was feeding on the small buds of bushes and vines. Never really paid much attention to that.

I find the grey cap with the rich red sides attractive along with the mottled bib.  Sometimes, a bird exhibits what I can only call "character". This Eastern Towhee was a persistent "loudmouth", mostly voicing the phrase "drink your  tea" over and over. Like the Wood Thrush, he understood that he had to broadcast  his message in all possible directions.

So, that is all I can show for my efforts in the bird area. The wildflowers are abundant right now, so I'll be reporting on them soon.

Paul Schmitt

Spring (Bird) Displays

Spring brings out all sorts of colorful and sometimes intricate displays, all controlled by each species' genes driving its host to perpetuate those genes.  This is true for flora and fauna.  For animals, the genes can drive the parent to pretty extreme behavior.  So, I've recently come up with a few interesting displays in the bird world.  Most were seen at a waterfowl park devoted to public education and breeding of rare wild waterfowl.

On a snowy March morning, this Hooded Merganser is displaying his hood to his mate.

Naturally, there are rival males that fly in to offer an alternative. Sometimes the competition is display, and in some species it can also be in vocalization.  This guy was eager to display.

The male's display can take many forms.  This Ruddy Duck, with his beautiful blue bill and rich red feathers puffs up his breast and bobs his head up and down to cause the water to bubble and shake.  It is an amazing sight, comical to me but surely impressive to Ruddy Duck females.

Now, the competition among males is not always restricted to displays.and song.  It can degrade into battle as these two Ruddy Ducks showed.  The water flew for minutes as they fought.

It appeared (to me) that once a pair was bonded, the male-on-male fighting subsided.  ( At times, the bonded female became aggressive to other ducks.)  An intricate dance was sometimes shown as with this pair of Common Goldeneye Ducks. She was showing a submissive attitude with her body low in the water suggesting she was ready to accept the male.  He was displaying his robust colors. 

The male also displayed his strength with wild "dancing".  Pretty impressive fellow, I'd say.

As the courtship continued, he came close and she eventually took a gentle hold on his wing by the white "bars". They spun around in a slow way, as he displayed his opposing wing.  All very interesting.  They mated under water as is probably common for diving ducks.

Naturally, all of this is a precursor to laying eggs and the female sitting on them for weeks before hatching the ducklings.  

It seems that the larger birds have more ability to keep eggs warm in cold later winter.   So, many are already hatching eggs as is the case for Bald Eagles, Great Horned Owls and some swans. These two (non-native) Black-necked Swans hatched the first of four eggs on March 30.

The male (cob) initially patrolled the island keeping the ducks at a distance, but soon he came in to examine the cygnet.  Note one of the three remaining eggs is to right of the cygnet.

More Orchids to Share

Concluding my exhibit of notable orchids from the US Botanic Garden's open  house, here are six images of orchids that convey the magical variety of forms and coloration found in their greenhouses.

Some are tiny and subtle like these blooms.

Others are richly colored, yet still small.

The variety of colors includes a brilliant cardinal red like these.

 

Among the  most striking were the hanging orchids such as this Dendrobium.  They provided a challenge to compose without including the overhead structures of the building. These buds actually began to open while I was there.

 

Here's another hanging variety that returns to the softer colors and textures.

Saving one of the most striking orchid for the last, here is a spider-like bloom which I believe is of the genus Rhynchoiaelia.

Reviewing these reminds me to put a note on my calendar to look for the announcement of the open house next winter.  There will surely be some different orchids in bloom, and some new ways to look at the above.  This open house is exactly what I needed to break out of the winter mindset and prepare for spring.

Best regards,

Paul Schmitt

KISS at Niagara Falls

I was at the annual convention of the Niagara Regional Camera Clubs this weekend. The meetings (and lodging) are right at the American side of the falls, literally a five minute walk.  Niagara Falls has this night-time illumination every evening.  It draws a lot of people, even on a frigid night. Ignoring strong winds and sub-freezing temperatures, I took my tripod and camera down to test a lens that I am considering to buy.  The scene looks like this:

Nikon D800,  48 mm lens;  8 sec. at f/8.

The lights, sitting on the Canadian side, cycle through a range of colors.  A typical resulting image of the American Falls is:

So, now, many are saying to themselves some assortment of "ooh" and "aah".   I was pretty happy with the result that night.  But, I recalled a previous time when I walked to the falls in the very early morning when the floodlights were off.  So, I got up and was there at 6:00 am.  The only light was the ambient city lighting reflecting off the low clouds.  Here is what I found:

Absent the strong floodlights, the foreground colors come out nicely and the textures are better.  A vertical image absolutely won me over to the early morning result. 

 

So, you might say that I was reminded of  Keep It Simple, Stupid.  I know the floodlights attract both moths and tourist alike, but predawn is uncrowded and beautiful in a simpler way.  Another bonus was that the wind had subsided and it was definitely easier to keep my hands warm.

Paul 

Just a Few Orchids

Recently, I had the good fortune to attend the annual open house at the US Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC.  Honestly, I spent nearly the entire time in the orchid greenhouses.  I'll be posting a few of the photos today, and add a few more as time allows.  I honestly don't think any dialogue is necessary when presenting such awesome beauty.  Just enjoy.

Paul Schmitt

 

All images made with Nikon D300S, 105 mm Nikkor Micro, SB800 fill flash, handheld

CM Ducks?

The old joke has one southern gent saying "C M Ducks", to which his friend argues "M R Knot".  The first counters "S M are,  C M Wangs".  Well, I just love the splendid variety of plumage that our ducks display in breeding season.  So, their most colorful appearances are seen now and it is time to get active with the camera.  I just got back from the Chesapeake Bay region where I worked on adding to my duck images. I think you'll enjoy these few examples.

I've wanted to get close to Canvasback Ducks without any success for some time, and that all changed at my first stop where the ducks were very close. The eyes capture my attention.

I've photographed the American Wigeon before, but I am always discovering new ways to love this dainty little duck.  Note the beautiful feather details along the back and the neck patterning.

Another duck that is in some ways similar to the Canvasback is the Redhead.  Beautiful plumage, brilliant eyes and a distinctive blue and black bill.

None of the above ducks were plentiful, but the Lesser Scaup was almost as commonplace as the Mallard is in all places.  The difficulty was in finding a single example that was alone, but this one  finally came looking at me.  Again I love the eyes.

All of the above were photographed while out in a strong wind at freezing temperatures, but I was lost in the moment and only realized my hands were very cold after an hour.  It was worth the discomfort.  The cold finally won the day, and we headed for out night's lodging.

A day later, I was shooting from a car and had some protection from the cold except for my left  hand that was outside the window.  The skittish ducks are more comfortable around a vehicle, and this allowed me to get my very first images of a long wished for subject- a male Hooded Merganser displaying to a female.

There is more to the story about Hooded Mergansers, but I will save that for a later post.

Last year, I finally got good images of the stylish Pintail Duck, but I still wanted more. On the last evening as the sun set, this pair came screeching in to a protective marsh area.

I'll  share more photos as I have time.

Regards,

Paul

Winter's Bucket List

This is not about that ominous "bucket list".  I intend to keep going for a long time, but each winter I do make a sort of "seasonal bucket list" made up of those objectives that always get ignored in warmer seasons.  So my list includes a few books, exploring some new photo techniques and planning my photo travel for the coming year.  This still leaves some time for a few photo outings when the weather allows.

So, in between reading Charles Dickens and Richard Dawkins, I've been exploring some creative applications in my smartphone. The first iPhone app I've looked at is Laminar.  Had it for nearly a year, and had not been able to understand it until a new version was introduced.

The base photo was taken with the front facing iPhone 4 camera and sent to MobilMonet --another pretty neat iPhone app-- where I modified it so the background is monochromatic.

Next I slipped out to my frozen yard and snapped a photo of some dormant grass.  This grass image was put in Laminar as a base layer and the portrait was set on top with a bit of transparency. Seems to capture my thinking about the pause in the plant world.

 Our home has a sun room which is a nice sanctuary on winter days; I can sit there and watch the weather in between pages of a good book.  Right now, one of Pam's orchids has come into bloom bringing real cheer to each winter day. I am just fascinated by orchids.  They are so sensuous in both form and color.  How could I not photograph this? And then, how could I help but explore how to create a greater interpretation? 

Two layers processed on iPhone4.  Lower layer is monochromatic close up.  Upper layer is reduced in opacity to reveal the lower layer.  Laminar app.  Photogene app used to optimize each basic image.

There have been nice days to get out. Recently, we drove up to Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario.  The lighthouse out on the jetty showed the result of high winds and extreme cold in the form of heavy ice.

Initial image from iPhone4, edited in Lightroom4.  As good as the iPhone apps are, they cannot match the result in Lightroom4. And, should the reader get extremely impressed with the smartphone photo capability, here is what my Nikon DSLR gave me at the same location.

The color sensitivity and zoom lens just allowed greater flexibility in matching what the viewer actually saw.  Both nice images, but the iPhone has fewer options for composing the scene.

There is one very nice capability with the iPhone plus versatile apps, and that is exploring strongly interpretive images that step away from traditional "reality". (If there really is such a thing as reality.) So, the creative mind can run wild combining textures and colors.  This is a layering of two wildly dissimilar images - dried winter grasses and thin ice forms. 

So, this is my final post of February.  The bucket list is pretty much completed, and I am ready to burst out with images of birds and blooms. 

Paul Schmitt